Is there an out-of-town shopping complex near Cambridge?
BL
the city centre is just too much (to a newcomer)...
Rupert Moss-Eccardt
>
> as title... with shops, cinemas and restaurants? The parking situation in
> the city centre is just too much (to a newcomer)...
Yes, it is called Peterborough.
Mark Carroll
BL <l...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>as title... with shops, cinemas and restaurants? The parking situation in
>the city centre is just too much (to a newcomer)...
Not near, AFAIK. Depending on what side of the city you're on,
dropping into Haverhill or wherever may suffice for some purposes -
picking things up from Argos, etc. People seem to drive to Thurrock
Lakeside and wherever; we used to go to Milton Keynes occasionally.
-- Mark
Tim Ward
news:GfIq7.9552$o%6.15...@news2-win.server.ntlworld.com...
> as title... with shops, cinemas and restaurants? The parking situation in
> the city centre is just too much (to a newcomer)...
If you were to not park, eg by walking or cycling or motorcycling or taking
the bus or train or taxi, in fact any way at all apart from driving your own
car, then you'd actually be able to drink, as well. Oops. Better scrub the
motorbike, then.
--
Tim Ward - posting as an individual unless otherwise clear
Brett Ward Ltd - www.brettward.co.uk
Cambridge Accommodation Notice Board - www.brettward.co.uk/canb
Cambridge City Councillor
Jon Green
> as title... with shops, cinemas and restaurants? The parking situation in
> the city centre is just too much (to a newcomer)...
Yep. It's called the Bar Hill Tesco's.
Jon
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Ashley Stevens
Tim Ward wrote:
> If you were to not park, eg by walking or cycling or motorcycling or taking
> the bus or train or taxi, in fact any way at all apart from driving your own
> car, then you'd actually be able to drink, as well.
Yep, so long as you don't actually want to shop at the shopping centre,
you'll be fine.
Ashley
Jon Green
wrote:
> On Fri, 21 Sep 2001 15:40:26 +0100, "BL" <l...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>
> > as title... with shops, cinemas and restaurants? The parking situation in
> > the city centre is just too much (to a newcomer)...
>
> Yep. It's called the Bar Hill Tesco's.
(Well, apart from the cinemas, of course...but you can always watch the
Bar Hill Tragedy on the web, at www.wheresmypub.com)
Sion Arrowsmith
>If you were to not park, eg by walking or cycling or motorcycling or taking
>the bus or train or taxi, in fact any way at all apart from driving your own
>car, then you'd actually be able to drink, as well. Oops. Better scrub the
>motorbike, then.
And scrub the bus too, unless you plan on finishing your drinking
by 6. But if you *don't* want to hang around much later, the Park&
Ride's a solution.
--
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Paul Oldham
si...@chiark.greenend.org.uk (Sion Arrowsmith) growled:
> Tim Ward <t...@brettward.co.uk> wrote:
> >If you were to not park, eg by walking or cycling or motorcycling or
> > taking the bus or train or taxi, in fact any way at all apart from
> > driving your own car, then you'd actually be able to drink, as well.
> > Oops. Better scrub the motorbike, then.
>
> And scrub the bus too, unless you plan on finishing your drinking
> by 6.
I don't know where you live but that's certainly not true for Milton and
points north. The last bus leaves Drummer St at 23:05 and we regularly use
it to get home after the pub on Friday night. There's lots of other buses
leaving at that time of night too.
--
Paul Oldham, Milton villager and telecommuting COBOL hack
The cam.* FAQ ---> http://the-hug.org/paul/camfaq.html
Milton web site -> http://www.miltonvillage.org.uk/
Tim Ward
news:3BAB597A...@arm.com...
Yes, I did get the impression that the original question was primarily after
a leisure facility rather than somewhere to buy lots of heavy goods, but I
may have got that wrong.
Dan Sheppard
>as title... with shops, cinemas and restaurants? The parking situation in
>the city centre is just too much (to a newcomer)...
Peterborough. Cambridge is for the high-spending international traveller.
Dan.
--
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The incredible Sulk
BL wrote:
>
> as title... with shops, cinemas and restaurants? The parking situation in
> the city centre is just too much (to a newcomer)...
Norwich? London?
--
Great Sayings of the past:
"He who shits in the road will meet flies on his return" (Mr Natural)
"De Heffalumpis semper disputandum est" (Winne Ille Pu)
The incredible Sulk
BL wrote:
>
> as title... with shops, cinemas and restaurants? The parking situation in
> the city centre is just too much (to a newcomer)...
Use the park and ride then.
Buses go to the Grafton.
Sion Arrowsmith
>I don't know where you live but that's certainly not true for Milton and
>points north. The last bus leaves Drummer St at 23:05 and we regularly use
>it to get home after the pub on Friday night. There's lots of other buses
>leaving at that time of night too.
On the route of the 3, which runs hourly until 22:20 (or some
such -- I can't get scam_tt.htm to load ATM) in the evening.
The route is sufficiently unreliable for busses travelling into
town that I feel really uneasy about relying on there being one
to get me home. P&R stops before 20:00, of course.
What do you count as "points north" of Milton? I've recently
been looking at services to and from Ely, and with the
exception of the hourly run through Newmarket, they all seem
to stop at around 18:00 too.
Paul Oldham
si...@chiark.greenend.org.uk (Sion Arrowsmith) growled:
> Paul Oldham <pa...@the-hug.org> wrote:
> >I don't know where you live but that's certainly not true for Milton and
> >points north. The last bus leaves Drummer St at 23:05 and we regularly
> >use it to get home after the pub on Friday night. There's lots of other
> >buses leaving at that time of night too.
>
> What do you count as "points north" of Milton? I've recently
> been looking at services to and from Ely, and with the
> exception of the hourly run through Newmarket, they all seem
> to stop at around 18:00 too.
The regular Milton bus, the number 9, only runs to Landbeach and Waterbeach.
However the last bus home on the same route is a diverted X9, which goes all
the way to Littleport via Ely (arriving Littleport 00:03). The X8 also goes
to Ely at runs later than 18:00 (and not via Newmarket either).
BTW, all the bus timetables from Cambridge can be found in ASCII format at
http://the-hug.org/bus/
Mike Pitt
Dan Sheppard <da...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
>Peterborough. Cambridge is for the high-spending international traveller.
Why did noone tell me this until I'd lived here 7 years? Could it be 'cos
it is rubbish? Nahhh... I should have known that I'd have preferred
Peterborough. I feel so stupid.
Mike
Ben Chalmers
<cam.misc>
You have been to Amsterdam. You have a mortgage on a house in Cambridge.
Seems to me you are a high spending international traveller.
</cam.misc>
Ben
--
Ben Chalmers
Dan Sheppard
>Why did noone tell me this until I'd lived here 7 years? Could it be 'cos
>it is rubbish? Nahhh... I should have known that I'd have preferred
>Peterborough. I feel so stupid.
Mileages vary.
Dan.
--
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Mike Pitt
Dan Sheppard <da...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
>Mileages vary.
You appear to have changed your claimed view almost totally
here. Cambridge is only for one group, but opinions may vary. Which is
it?
So why the sweeping statement? (Ignoring Ben's observation that I am a
high spending international traveller for a second.) You said it suited
only one group of people, and this is clearly false. I think the city,
whilst not perfect, has a by and large good enough range of shops for most
purposes, and certainly isn't all posh expensive tourist tat.
It does irritate me when people make unfair knee-jerk comments about
Cambridge. Dunno why, but it does. (And when I'm feeling ill I tend to
show it, for which I apologise. :-)
Mike
Martin Read
Mike Pitt <mike...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
>In article <MNt*jk...@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk>,
>Dan Sheppard <da...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
>>Mileages vary.
>
>You appear to have changed your claimed view almost totally
>here. Cambridge is only for one group, but opinions may vary. Which is
>it?
The "high spending international traveller" seemd rhetorical rather than
literal, from where I was sitting...
m.
--
\_\/_/| The FBI are not concerned with the sexual peccadillos of a random
\ / | perkygoth.
\/ |
------+
Richard Stimson
news:dZF*4K...@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk...
>
> It does irritate me when people make unfair knee-jerk comments about
> Cambridge. Dunno why, but it does. (And when I'm feeling ill I tend
to
> show it, for which I apologise. :-)
>
Dan Sheppard
>Dan Sheppard <da...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
>>Mileages vary.
>
>You appear to have changed your claimed view almost totally
>here. Cambridge is only for one group, but opinions may vary. Which is
>it?
I think that it is almost entirely suited to one group of people.
Other people think otherwise. I don't think that's a contradiction.
>It does irritate me when people make unfair knee-jerk comments about
>Cambridge. Dunno why, but it does. (And when I'm feeling ill I tend to
>show it, for which I apologise. :-)
And it irritates me when people accuse me of making a knee jerk
reaction, when I've actually thought it through on a number of
occassions when I've been trying to decide where to live. Judgements
around decisions as to `where shall I live' are not the kind of
decisions you make to annoy people on newsgroups.
When I came to University a -ve point was that Cambridge was crap for
shopping. When I decided where to live whilst an RA, a -ve point was
that Cambridge was crap for shopping (and difficult to get elsewhere
to shop form), when I decided where to do my PhD the same, when I
decided where to go after my PhD, the same again.
To be fair to the place it's quite good for food (buying and eating
out), but for most `leisure purchases', which seemed to be what the
chap was after, I feel it's almost exclusively oriented towards
tourists. When I want to buy CDs, clothes, furniture, and so on, the
kind of things people go to out-of-town places to buy, I invariably go
elsewhere.
Dan.
--
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Mike Pitt
Could be. Yes, maybe I react to unfair knee-jerk statements 'cos I'm
parochial. Fair enough. Seems a little unlikely to me, seeing as the
towns I'm comparing it with and finding little difference are scattered in
many different provinces.
(Cambridge is better for coffee and bookshops than Leeds, according to my
resident friends in Leeds. Cambridge is no worse than Guildford or Bath.
IMO better, but it is an opinion call there. Derby is a much bigger city
but doesn't provide that much more by way of services. Ely, Richmond
(Yorks), Godalming, Haslemere are all lovely but don't have the same level
of services. London whips Cambridge hollow, but then that wasn't the
issue, as London has more interesting shops than most places.
Peterborough is different to Cambridge, but I'm told the two complement
each other, I've just never felt the need to fight with trains north[0]
when London is so much easier to get to in the rare occasions Cambridge
fails me. What is it that Cambridge is missing? A good games shop is
all that occurs to me.)
Mike
[0] Why is it that trains to anywhere other than London from Cambridge
seem to have odd intervals and erratic scheduling? For example I had a
nose to check that Peterborough was as bad as I remember it, and sure
enough the trains are 10h04, 10h32, 11h06, 11h32, 12h05, 12h56... is there
any pattern there (oh and most take different times)?
Dan Sheppard
>(Cambridge is better for coffee and bookshops than Leeds, according to my
>resident friends in Leeds.
Cambridge is probably better for bookshops than Leeds since the
Borders opened here. I think Leeds is better for coffee shops.
>Cambridge is no worse than Guildford or Bath.
I'll have to take your word on that.
>What is it that Cambridge is missing?
* A record shop with a reasonable selection of alternative records. No
Parrot doesn't count!
* IKEA
* Good `alternative' clothing shops, an Aflex-Palace-alike, in general.
* Interesting places to drink that aren't Real Ale or Townie. Like
Revolution or `Down Under' off-peak.
* Non-chain (ie. different-in-style) coffee shops.
* Harvey Nich's.
* A good indoor food market where you can by cuts of meat, fish, and so on.
* A good habidasher's market
* Wilkinsons
* Budget-end supermarkets.
* Only one 24-hour garage with a poor selection of food.
(Perhaps 2 if the Tex has sorted itself out). Still, very sparse.
* V. few pub-size venues for gigs
* Hobby shops like (I'm told) extreme sports and good modelling shops
* Posh furniture shops (I'm told)
* Ice Rink
* Bowling Alley (??? Not sure about this one)
* Good ironmongers'
* Tiny regular record shops
and so on.
Dan.
--
Somebody typed " Nightswimming " into Google, and found
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Tim Ward
news:9mw*Zh...@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk...
(snipped list including a number of interest only to those who consider
"shopping" a "leisure pursuit" rather than a chore and a hassle)
> * Budget-end supermarkets.
Not quite sure what you mean here - perhaps you don't mean the ones on the
council estates?
> * Ice Rink
> * Bowling Alley (??? Not sure about this one)
Sort of thing that's pencilled in for the northern fringe and/or airport
developments, but don't hold your breath.
> * Good ironmongers'
Piggotts RIP. Sad, that.
Dan Sheppard
>(snipped list including a number of interest only to those who consider
>"shopping" a "leisure pursuit" rather than a chore and a hassle)
So shoot me! :)
>> * Budget-end supermarkets.
>
>Not quite sure what you mean here - perhaps you don't mean the ones on the
>council estates?
I mean Morrisons', Budgens, Kwik Save, Netto, Aldi, and so on. Peoper
sized shops of that kind.
Dan.
--
Somebody typed " nuclear bunkers hertfordshire " into Google, and found
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Mark Goodge
keyboard and typed:
>Tim Ward <t...@brettward.co.uk> wrote:
>>(snipped list including a number of interest only to those who consider
>>"shopping" a "leisure pursuit" rather than a chore and a hassle)
>
>So shoot me! :)
>
>>> * Budget-end supermarkets.
>>
>>Not quite sure what you mean here - perhaps you don't mean the ones on the
>>council estates?
>
>I mean Morrisons', Budgens, Kwik Save, Netto, Aldi, and so on. Peoper
>sized shops of that kind.
There's an Aldi in Histon road, isn't there?
Mark
--
Visit Mark's World at http://www.good-stuff.co.uk/mark/
Mark Goodge
keyboard and typed:
>* Interesting places to drink that aren't Real Ale
That's an oxymoron.
Jón Fairbairn
> On 26 Sep 2001 18:29:56 +0100 (BST), Dan Sheppard put finger to
> keyboard and typed:
> >I mean Morrisons', Budgens, Kwik Save, Netto, Aldi, and so on. Peoper
> >sized shops of that kind.
>
> There's an Aldi in Histon road, isn't there?
And a Budgens near here (on Perne Road, I think)
--
Jón Fairbairn Jon.Fa...@cl.cam.ac.uk
Patrick Gosling
>* IKEA
This can't surely be the same Dan Sheppard who imagined hell to be
furnished entirely from IKEA ... 8-)
>* Non-chain (ie. different-in-style) coffee shops.
Clowns? Now, a non-chain, non-chain-smoking coffee shop would be interesting.
Also, CB1 and CB2 and a greasy spoon down Mill Road as far as I remember?
>* A good indoor food market where you can by cuts of meat, fish, and so on.
I don't suppose that Eaden Lilley's food hall on Sussex St counts?
>* Budget-end supermarkets.
Unfortunately, the co-ops seem to be more rather than less expensive.
There's always Aldi.
>* Only one 24-hour garage with a poor selection of food.
> (Perhaps 2 if the Tex has sorted itself out). Still, very sparse.
But several 24-hour supermarkets, admittedly on the periphery.
>* Hobby shops like (I'm told) extreme sports and good modelling shops
The modelling shop in Trumpington seems quite sensible; and I'm still
pissed off that Action Sports (on Mitcham's corner), which used to be
perfectly sensible and had a reasonable running shoe section, has got
replaced by some silly fashion-oriented "extreme sports" emporium.
>* Posh furniture shops (I'm told)
Not even around the Mill Road/Gwydir St intersection? They're certainly
posh with the pricing strategies; however the seriously interested in this
kind of area presumably all head down to Saffron Walden as fast as their
Volvos can take them ...
>* Bowling Alley (??? Not sure about this one)
Yup, you're right. Nearest ones are Pidley, Newmarket and Ely, I think (or
Stevenage if you prefer heading south).
>* Good ironmongers'
Mackays?
Admitted, I've snipped dozens of entries that I couldn't answer ... 8-)
-patrick.
Dan Sheppard
>Dan Sheppard <da...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
>>>What is it that Cambridge is missing?
>[ snip ]
>>* IKEA
>
>This can't surely be the same Dan Sheppard who imagined hell to be
>furnished entirely from IKEA ... 8-)
:) It is. I was trying to be as general as possible in answer to
what's wrong with Cambridge's shopping. If it was just things I used I
wouldn't have added Ice Rinks or bowling alleys either. They're just
things I see lots of people leaving cambridge for.
If it had been a list of things I missed people would have said "So
you're saying Cambridge is crap because it doesn't have the three or
four kinds of shops you want to use."
>>* Non-chain (ie. different-in-style) coffee shops.
>
>Clowns? Now, a non-chain, non-chain-smoking coffee shop would be interesting.
>Also, CB1 and CB2 and a greasy spoon down Mill Road as far as I remember?
:) There are some. I find the atmosphere of those three places
entirely unsuited to my tastes. They're all a bit up-scale, really. I
was thinking more greesy spoon. I haven't been to the one down Mill
Road, but it seems a way to go for a cup of tea. Belindas and Woolies
are good for Sausage and Chips and a cup of tea, but neither of them
are like a proper greesy spoon!
>>* A good indoor food market where you can by cuts of meat, fish, and so on.
>
>I don't suppose that Eaden Lilley's food hall on Sussex St counts?
I've never been in Eaden Lilleys because it seemed a bit posh. Perhaps
that's my loss and I should have a look. I'd imagined it would be all
Parma Ham and Corn Fed Goat and things at M&S food hall prices.
>>* Budget-end supermarkets.
>
>Unfortunately, the co-ops seem to be more rather than less expensive.
>There's always Aldi.
I guess I'm used to big barn-sized places that have stacks and stacks
of no-frills this and that, rather than places in the style of Co-Ops
and Mace shops. Perhaps I should pay more attention to them.
>>* Only one 24-hour garage with a poor selection of food.
>> (Perhaps 2 if the Tex has sorted itself out). Still, very sparse.
>
>But several 24-hour supermarkets, admittedly on the periphery.
Really? Like Tescos Bar Hill, you mean? Is that 24 hour?
>>* Hobby shops like (I'm told) extreme sports and good modelling shops
>
>The modelling shop in Trumpington seems quite sensible; and I'm still
>pissed off that Action Sports (on Mitcham's corner), which used to be
>perfectly sensible and had a reasonable running shoe section, has got
>replaced by some silly fashion-oriented "extreme sports" emporium.
I'll take your word for that. People have just moaned at me in the
past about lack of shops selling gear for improbable sports in the
past. Perhaps that was before this place changed emphasis.
>>* Posh furniture shops (I'm told)
>
>Not even around the Mill Road/Gwydir St intersection? They're certainly
>posh with the pricing strategies; however the seriously interested in this
>kind of area presumably all head down to Saffron Walden as fast as their
>Volvos can take them ...
Ah, I was thinking posh as in not MFI or IKEA. More places like Oxfam
Furniture or tat shops selling reupholstered chairs and buffed-up
sideboards. There are a couple of these places in Cambridge (like that
Pine place on Lensfield Road), but I don't think there's enough choice
for it to be worth shopping for that kind of thing here.
>>* Bowling Alley (??? Not sure about this one)
>
>Yup, you're right. Nearest ones are Pidley, Newmarket and Ely, I think (or
>Stevenage if you prefer heading south).
>
>>* Good ironmongers'
>
>Mackays?
They're kind of what I was after, but not quite. Perhaps I was spoilt,
but I was brought up with an Ironmongers that also sold stuff like
pot-plants, christmas tree lights, washing lines, clothes baskets,
buckets, vacuum cleaner bags, air freshner, and so on: all kind of
random household stuff. Perhaps ironmongers is a bad word, but they
also sold stuff like nails and paint and called themselves a "hardware
store". Perhaps McKays do sell this stuff (I can never find stuff there
without asking someone), but they seem to hide it well behind power
tools, hard hats, and the like.
I know I've been sounding a bit of a neigh-sayer, but I'm really quite
happy with Cambridge outside the inner ring-road. But inside it, it's
not much use to me. And what I'm left with is a city without a useful
city centre. You know, I can walk from Engineering to the Castle and
what shops can I name along the way? There's Belindas, Heffers, and
Talking T's. There must be others, but God knows what it is they sell.
Dan.
--
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Tim Ward
>
> They're kind of what I was after, but not quite. Perhaps I was spoilt,
> but I was brought up with an Ironmongers that also sold stuff like
> pot-plants, christmas tree lights, washing lines, clothes baskets,
> buckets, vacuum cleaner bags, air freshner, and so on: all kind of
> random household stuff.
Oh, like Lowes, you mean? RIP also, I believe?
But you get a lot of that if you combine the household goods bit of the
basement at Robert Sayle with the junk gifte shoppe bit at the south end of
the ground floor.
Mark Goodge
keyboard and typed:
>>>* Good ironmongers'
>>
>>Mackays?
>
>They're kind of what I was after, but not quite. Perhaps I was spoilt,
>but I was brought up with an Ironmongers that also sold stuff like
>pot-plants, christmas tree lights, washing lines, clothes baskets,
>buckets, vacuum cleaner bags, air freshner, and so on: all kind of
>random household stuff. Perhaps ironmongers is a bad word, but they
>also sold stuff like nails and paint and called themselves a "hardware
>store".
Like B&Q, for example? Or Wilkinsons (of which there isn't one in
Cambridge, of course).
Rupert Moss-Eccardt
Dan Sheppard wrote:
> >Mackays?
>
> They're kind of what I was after, but not quite. Perhaps I was spoilt,
> but I was brought up with an Ironmongers that also sold stuff like
> pot-plants, christmas tree lights, washing lines, clothes baskets,
> buckets, vacuum cleaner bags, air freshner, and so on: all kind of
> random household stuff. Perhaps ironmongers is a bad word, but they
> also sold stuff like nails and paint and called themselves a "hardware
> store". Perhaps McKays do sell this stuff (I can never find stuff there
> without asking someone), but they seem to hide it well behind power
> tools, hard hats, and the like.
Bishops?
BL
>
> Like B&Q, for example? Or Wilkinsons (of which there isn't one in
> Cambridge, of course).
>
I MISS WILKINSONS!
Mark Goodge
typed:
>
>>
>> Like B&Q, for example? Or Wilkinsons (of which there isn't one in
>> Cambridge, of course).
>>
>
>I MISS WILKINSONS!
There's one here in Ely. It's great - I tend to go in every time
I walk past, even if I don't really want anything. But I always
come out with something!
Paul Oter
"Tim Ward" <t...@brettward.co.uk> wrote in message
news:Bpqs7.2849$Vj1.4...@news2-win.server.ntlworld.com...
> Dan Sheppard <da...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote in message
> news:iUl*9U...@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk...
> >
> > They're kind of what I was after, but not quite. Perhaps I was spoilt,
> > but I was brought up with an Ironmongers that also sold stuff like
> > pot-plants, christmas tree lights, washing lines, clothes baskets,
> > buckets, vacuum cleaner bags, air freshner, and so on: all kind of
> > random household stuff.
>
> Oh, like Lowes, you mean? RIP also, I believe?
>
It's now called Cutlacks of Ely, on Mill Road just east of the Broadway. I
think it would suit Dan's requirements..
Paul
Patrick Gosling
Dan Sheppard <da...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
[ my teasing about Ikea ]
>If it had been a list of things I missed people would have said "So
>you're saying Cambridge is crap because it doesn't have the three or
>four kinds of shops you want to use."
Sorry, you're right of course. I couldn't resist though.
[ coffee shops that aren't chains and aren't up-market ]
>was thinking more greesy spoon. I haven't been to the one down Mill
>Road, but it seems a way to go for a cup of tea. Belindas and Woolies
>are good for Sausage and Chips and a cup of tea, but neither of them
>are like a proper greesy spoon!
Martins used to be a reasonable approximation, but ...
I wonder if you can count the Maypole or the Bun Shop (both of which
do all day breakfasts of a proper kind - I think they'd both be quite
happy to serve someone coffee instead of beer during the day, as well).
>I've never been in Eaden Lilleys because it seemed a bit posh. Perhaps
>that's my loss and I should have a look. I'd imagined it would be all
>Parma Ham and Corn Fed Goat and things at M&S food hall prices.
Probably yes, although you might be surprised at how cheap M+S are
if you look for the right things there.
>>But several 24-hour supermarkets, admittedly on the periphery.
>
>Really? Like Tescos Bar Hill, you mean? Is that 24 hour?
Coldhams Lane Sainsburies (or have they given up again?) and Milton
Tescos as well.
>>>* Posh furniture shops (I'm told)
>>
>>Not even around the Mill Road/Gwydir St intersection? They're certainly
>>posh with the pricing strategies; however the seriously interested in this
>>kind of area presumably all head down to Saffron Walden as fast as their
>>Volvos can take them ...
>
>Ah, I was thinking posh as in not MFI or IKEA. More places like Oxfam
>Furniture or tat shops selling reupholstered chairs and buffed-up
>sideboards. There are a couple of these places in Cambridge (like that
>Pine place on Lensfield Road), but I don't think there's enough choice
>for it to be worth shopping for that kind of thing here.
Ok, for that kind of "posh", then I think there's a rather wider range
of options up and down Mill Road, and in the Hope St yard.
>>>* Good ironmongers'
>>
>>Mackays?
>
>They're kind of what I was after, but not quite. Perhaps I was spoilt,
>but I was brought up with an Ironmongers that also sold stuff like
>pot-plants, christmas tree lights, washing lines, clothes baskets,
>buckets, vacuum cleaner bags, air freshner, and so on: all kind of
>random household stuff. Perhaps ironmongers is a bad word, but they
>also sold stuff like nails and paint and called themselves a "hardware
>store". Perhaps McKays do sell this stuff (I can never find stuff there
>without asking someone), but they seem to hide it well behind power
>tools, hard hats, and the like.
There's a place a fair bit down Mill Road - I _think_ it's Cutlacks?
Exactly that kind of thing, I think.
>I know I've been sounding a bit of a neigh-sayer, but I'm really quite
>happy with Cambridge outside the inner ring-road. But inside it, it's
>not much use to me. And what I'm left with is a city without a useful
>city centre. You know, I can walk from Engineering to the Castle and
>what shops can I name along the way? There's Belindas, Heffers, and
>Talking T's. There must be others, but God knows what it is they sell.
I think that's not that unfair, although there's also the Cheese shop,
the YHA shop, Blacks (camping), Grays (sports shop, the only place you
can get trainers that'll last more than a couple of hundred miles),
Campkins on Rose Crescent (who are a very helpful photography shop),
Millers Music on Sussex St, just to list the few central shops that
spring to mind as ones _I_ sometimes pop into town to get stuff from
or browse.
But Cambridge beyond the inner ring road is still pretty small ...
-patrick.
Paul Oldham
da...@chiark.greenend.org.uk (Dan Sheppard) growled:
> >What is it that Cambridge is missing?
>
> * A record shop with a reasonable selection of alternative records. No
> Parrot doesn't count!
> * IKEA
Snort! Someone who still wants to use Ikea. Weird.
> * Non-chain (ie. different-in-style) coffee shops.
*Lots* of those about. I like the one on the way in Bradwells Court.
> * Budget-end supermarkets.
We've got Aldi and Iceland (x2). Which others would you like?
> * Only one 24-hour garage with a poor selection of food.
> (Perhaps 2 if the Tex has sorted itself out). Still, very sparse.
Who needs a 24 hour garage when we've got 24 hours supermarkets?
> * Good ironmongers'
Now that's something you're wrong about - Cambridge has Mackays. Nuff said
(and also Cutlacks, although I've never felt the need meself).
> * Tiny regular record shops
So can we have Parrot here then?
Paul Oldham
da...@chiark.greenend.org.uk (Dan Sheppard) growled:
> entirely unsuited to my tastes. They're all a bit up-scale, really. I
> was thinking more greesy spoon. I haven't been to the one down Mill
> Road, but it seems a way to go for a cup of tea. Belindas and Woolies
> are good for Sausage and Chips and a cup of tea, but neither of them
> are like a proper greesy spoon!
Have you tried the one on Burleigh Street? That's pretty greasy. Does a
decent cuppa and chips with everything. It'll be shut soon mind you cos I
think it's one of the shops to be demolished in Grafton Centre Phase 3 :-(
Martin Read
Mark Goodge <ma...@good-stuff.co.uk> wrote:
>On 26 Sep 2001 17:52:29 +0100 (BST), Dan Sheppard put finger to
>keyboard and typed:
>
>>* Interesting places to drink that aren't Real Ale
>
>That's an oxymoron.
No; tehre are other interesting formats for drinks venues.
Whisky or vodka bars, for a start.
My *personal* preference is for Real Ale environments, admittedly.
Patrick Gosling
Martin Read <mpr...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
>No; tehre are other interesting formats for drinks venues.
>
>Whisky or vodka bars, for a start.
Fat Jacks?
-patrick.
Mark Ayliffe
>
> >What is it that Cambridge is missing?
>
> * Non-chain (ie. different-in-style) coffee shops.
You haven't looked hard enough :)
<AND some we do, but Dan obviously hasn't found>
> * V. few pub-size venues for gigs
How many is very few? I can think of two and I'm not even vaguely
interested. Have you discovered Adhoc? It lists at least 5 pubs holding
rock/pop gigs. Though I expect some are better than others.
> * Hobby shops like (I'm told) extreme sports and good modelling shops
2 modelling shops, one in Burleigh st and one in Trumpington. Neither cater
for the stuff I'm interested in, but they seem reasonable. If you're into
Doll's houses (which I'm not either before you ask) there's a very good
place just North of Bassingbourn.
> * Posh furniture shops (I'm told)
The one on King Street is middling posh. There's Sayles of course and that
unbeliveably posh and expensive place just North of Mitcham's corner on
Milton road, I've forgotten the name. I take it pretentious Pine Barns don't
count? 'cos we have more than enough of them.
<...>
> * Good ironmongers'
Umm, Mackay's is easily the best tools 'n' stuff shop around. Not quite the
traditional Ironmonger, the DIY shop in Sawston is closer, but these days
all such shops are sad reflections of what they (they type) once was IMHO.
> and so on.
Ah, now you're talking. Not much of that in Cambridge at all. But then it's
a very small city stuffed with undevelopable historic bits. If you want
Leicester, Sheffield, Leeds or London then why are you living here?
Mark
Neil Brewitt
> Have you tried the one on Burleigh Street? That's pretty greasy. Does a
> decent cuppa and chips with everything. It'll be shut soon mind you cos I
> think it's one of the shops to be demolished in Grafton Centre Phase 3 :-(
Why would you go there when Cambridge's best greasy spoon is just down the
road? The Athena Cafe is less than five minutes away, down Burleigh Street
out of town, and straight across at East Road, down Norwich (Norfolk?)
Street. It's in the bunch of shops where Andrew McCullough is.
Open some mad hours like 7am to 3pm, four quid should get you a real fry up
(including black pudding).
Neil.
Malcolm Gray
> >>* Only one 24-hour garage with a poor selection of food.
> >> (Perhaps 2 if the Tex has sorted itself out). Still, very sparse.
> >
> >But several 24-hour supermarkets, admittedly on the periphery.
>
> Really? Like Tescos Bar Hill, you mean? Is that 24 hour?
The Tescos at milton (and bar hill) is 24hour and I think the pertrol is as
well.
Richard Meredith
da...@chiark.greenend.org.uk (Dan Sheppard) wrote:
> Really? Like Tescos Bar Hill, you mean? Is that 24 hour?
Yes it is, except for the Sunday trading laws that prevent it being 24/7.
> They're kind of what I was after, but not quite. Perhaps I was spoilt,
> but I was brought up with an Ironmongers that also sold stuff like
> pot-plants, christmas tree lights, washing lines, clothes baskets,
> buckets, vacuum cleaner bags, air freshner, and so on: all kind of
> random household stuff. Perhaps ironmongers is a bad word, but they
> also sold stuff like nails and paint and called themselves a "hardware
> store". Perhaps McKays do sell this stuff (I can never find stuff there
> without asking someone), but they seem to hide it well behind power
> tools, hard hats, and the like.
They don't call themselves hardware stores, but that does sound suspiciously
like a description of B&Q, Homebase or whatever Octopus is called this week.
(Actually I know what you mean: places selling all manner of hardwareish
things crammed together into a space apparently ten per cent smaller than is
required to physically fit all the stuff in, and which is the only place in
the known universe to stock left-handed sprocket furnagglers and thorn
needles for wind-up gramophones).
--
This message may contain traces of nuts. Do not refreeze once thawed.
No animals were hurt in the making of this production. Suitable for
vegetarians.
David Damerell
>On 26 Sep 2001 17:52:29 +0100 (BST), Dan Sheppard put finger to
>That's an oxymoron.
A good selection of whisky would do for me. Ditto wine, if you're a wine
drinker.
--
David Damerell <dame...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> flcl?
Ara
> decent cuppa and chips with everything. It'll be shut soon mind you cos I
> think it's one of the shops to be demolished in Grafton Centre Phase 3 :-(
Good. The smell emitted by that place turns my stomach every time I
walk past. The sooner they bulldoze it the better.
Ara
Mike Pitt
Dan Sheppard <da...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
>Cambridge is probably better for bookshops than Leeds since the
>Borders opened here. I think Leeds is better for coffee shops.
I meant actual brown powder. :-) (Actually both have nice coffee shops
IMO, but I prefer Camrbridge 'cos I'm local.) The deciding bookshops are
G&P and Borders.
>>What is it that Cambridge is missing?
>* A record shop with a reasonable selection of alternative records. No
> Parrot doesn't count!
Fair enough. Now how many similar sized towns to Cambridge do? We have one
you don't like -- thats better than nothing.
>* IKEA
Fnar. Not a city centre issue. (Ikea's web page is broken, but I don't
think that any of the Ikea's are city centre.)
>* Good `alternative' clothing shops, an Aflex-Palace-alike, in general.
Good is subjective (as is alternative), but there are several rather naff
ones near the Grafton. Again, we are a small town and there is a range of
clothing shops in the city, they do meet several markets, but I accept it
doesn't reach all but it certainly reaches more than 1.
>* Non-chain (ie. different-in-style) coffee shops.
Hmmm. Most of the non-chain ones I've found tend to be very similar in
style to chains. In Cambridge there is clowns (which I can't see the
appeal of), and a few Tea shops (ditto). Cambridge is probably guilty
here.
>* Harvey Nich's.
Which *is* a high priced "international traveller" shop of which you
complain we have too many! Besides there are only a couple (Leeds and
London) in the country.
>* A good indoor food market where you can by cuts of meat, fish, and so on.
No indoor market, but there is the outdoor market which does do the
above. Our outdoor market is quite good actually. Cardiff has a lovely
indoor market (apropos of nothing :-).
>* A good habidasher's market
How many of these still exist? A sad loss. But habidashers exist in the
city.
>* Wilkinsons
Got me there. WTF is Wilkinsons?
>* Budget-end supermarkets.
Aldi, Iceland. Tesco is cheaper than many budget supermarkets anyway. The
Beehive CoOp may have counted? The absence of KwikSave I will allow
myself to snobbishly celebrate (Sorry!).
>* Only one 24-hour garage with a poor selection of food.
> (Perhaps 2 if the Tex has sorted itself out). Still, very sparse.
I don't see this as too bad, and again not a "city centre" issue!
>* V. few pub-size venues for gigs
Not a shop, but for a city of our size we don't do too bad with Man in the
Moon, Boat Race, Wrestlers and the thuingummy arms on Staples' roundabout.
I don't go to many gigs so I don't know if they are any good.
>* Hobby shops like (I'm told) extreme sports and good modelling shops
But these are scattered: we don't do bad for some: the Kite shop in
Chesterton, we have 2 games shops (one of which does some modelling), we
have good knitting shops. Yes if your hobby isn't covered you have to go
elsewhere, and it is a pain -- but we have more hobby shops than similar
sized towns 'cos of the university.
>* Posh furniture shops (I'm told)
How posh do these friends want? Habitat, Robert Sayle? Then there are the
more esoteric furniture shops (i.e. they sell futons. ;-) on Mill Road.
Again this is failing to meet your complaint as these would appeal to our
"high paying international traveller" anyway. :-)
>* Ice Rink
>* Bowling Alley (??? Not sure about this one)
Not city centre or shops, but the lack of these is sad. Problem is that
the city might not support them.
>* Good ironmongers'
See elsewhere in the thread for discussion.
>* Tiny regular record shops
Not sure what you mean by this? (Virgin in Grafton Centre might fit, but I
have a feeling I've missed something.)
So even if I were to concde all these omissions does it *only* suit the
group you said it does? Cambridge is not perfect. We don't have
everything, but for many people in many groups the shopping is adequate.
OK the groups don't include you, and if you'd said "Cambridge doesn't suit
me" I'd have left well alone, but you didn't. You spouted some rubbish
about it only being for one clique. This isn't true.
We aren't London or Leeds. We aren't even Nottingham, but then most of
the charges you made against Cambridge hold as well for Derby (IMO) which
is much larger than Cambridge.
Cambridge does well for its size as there are 2 universities, no large
competing towns in South Cambs, a tourist trade, and industries with
people with unhealthy disposable income. :-) There are a range of shops
if you get beyond the market square and Kings Parade (et al).
Mike, feeling a little less irritable today.
Mike Pitt
Richard Meredith <rmer...@cix.co.uk> wrote:
>(Actually I know what you mean: places selling all manner of hardwareish
>things crammed together into a space apparently ten per cent smaller than is
>required to physically fit all the stuff in, and which is the only place in
>the known universe to stock left-handed sprocket furnagglers and thorn
>needles for wind-up gramophones).
The joy of Gees? :-) The only place in Cambridge where they are still
suspcious of decimalised currency. :-)
Mike
Tony Sayer
chiark.greenend.org.uk> stuck his oar in and spake thus
I reckon the council ought to slap a preservation order on that shop. It
hasn't changed since I were a lad in the early sixties...
--
Tony Sayer
Bancom Communications Ltd U.K. Tel +44 1223 566577 Fax +44 1223 566588
P.O. Box 280, Cambridge, England, CB2 2DY E-Mail to...@bancom.co.uk
TL447-553 52* 10.57'N 0* 6.96 E
Sion Arrowsmith
>Patrick Gosling <jp...@eng.cam.ac.uk> wrote:
>> [ ... ]
> I
>was thinking more greesy spoon.
The chippy on Burleigh Street has already been mentioned.
But it is sufficiently greasy to be worth mentioning again.
(Er, there was something about record shops in Dan's original
list which I think came about here. Place on Kingston Street I
can't remember the name of. Parrot had very few shelves and even
fewer CDs on them last time I went in 8-( )
>I guess I'm used to big barn-sized places that have stacks and stacks
>of no-frills this and that, rather than places in the style of Co-Ops
>and Mace shops. Perhaps I should pay more attention to them.
I guess when the Asda finally opens it still won't fit the
bill. Lack of Morrisons in the South is definitely a Bad
Thing.
>>But several 24-hour supermarkets, admittedly on the periphery.
>Really? Like Tescos Bar Hill, you mean? Is that 24 hour?
All three Tescos are, I believe, 24 hour. Sainsbury's no
longer is (for the limitted values of 24 hours that it was).
So now it's a bit more of an expedition to have the strange
experience of hearing last orders called in a supermarket....
>>The modelling shop in Trumpington seems quite sensible;
There's also the model shop on Burleigh Street, of which I know
nothing save its location.
>Ah, I was thinking posh as in not MFI or IKEA. More places like Oxfam
>Furniture or tat shops selling reupholstered chairs and buffed-up
>sideboards.
Furniture must be the only consumer item where "touched-up second-
hand" == "posh". For *new* furniture, there are four or five places
(depending on who at the Beehive is still actually trading) within
spitting distance of MFI alone.
> vacuum cleaner bags
Cambridge has a specialist vaccuum cleaner shop, which I think
is quite impressive.
> And what I'm left with is a city without a useful
>city centre. You know, I can walk from Engineering to the Castle and
>what shops can I name along the way? There's Belindas, Heffers, and
>Talking T's. There must be others, but God knows what it is they sell.
Apart from the obvious tourist traps (eg English Teddy Bear
Company): university-related clothing (Ede&Ravenscroft, AE
Clothier, the other place on Kings Parade); art (two
galleries); more books (CUP and at least one second hand
place up Magdelene Street); sporting equipment (shop on
Trinity Street); cameras (Kings parade); alcohol (offie
by the Round Church); jokes and "novelties" (Bridge Street);
stamps (post office on Castle Hill). And I'd consider that
route to be studiously avoiding the city centre.
The thing to remember is that Cambridge is *tiny*. I'm
always surprised and impressed by the number of specialist
shops and stuff it does have.
--
\S -- si...@chiark.greenend.org.uk -- http://www.chaos.org.uk/~sion/
___ | "Frankly I have no feelings towards penguins one way or the other"
\X/ | -- Arthur C. Clarke
her nu becomeþ se bera eadward ofdun hlæddre heafdes bæce bump bump bump
st...@pospggamle.org
> I'll take your word for that. People have just moaned at me in the
> past about lack of shops selling gear for improbable sports in the
> past. Perhaps that was before this place changed emphasis.
I think it was neither fish nor fowl before. It had a crap selection
of proper sporting equipment, a crap selection of kites, a selection
of expensive prominently belogoed "yoof" clothing of which I am not
qualified to say if it was crap or not because it all looks nasty to
me.
> They're kind of what I was after, but not quite. Perhaps I was spoilt,
> but I was brought up with an Ironmongers that also sold stuff like
> pot-plants, christmas tree lights, washing lines, clothes baskets,
> buckets, vacuum cleaner bags, air freshner, and so on: all kind of
> random household stuff.
Try Cutlacks on Mill Rd. In the out-of-town direction fairly
near to the Fiat garage (but on the other side of the road).
-- Steve
st...@pospggamle.org
> They're all a bit up-scale, really. I
> was thinking more greesy spoon. I haven't been to the one down Mill
> Road, but it seems a way to go for a cup of tea. Belindas and Woolies
> are good for Sausage and Chips and a cup of tea, but neither of them
> are like a proper greesy spoon!
Try the City Stop cafe, which is at the small football ground
on Milton Rd. Their Driver's Breakfast is the business. It's
not really fair to call it a spoon because the quality is very
good. Or at least it used to be a couple of years ago when I
worked in striking distance of it.
-- Steve
st...@poamggsple.org
>
> Fnar. Not a city centre issue. (Ikea's web page is broken, but I don't
> think that any of the Ikea's are city centre.)
I think the point is more that there is no IKEA in convenient range as
opposed to there isn't one in the city centre. A trip to Lakeside to
do IKEA is bearable, occasionally. Not much fun if something has to
go back, which is all to common in our experience. It's a shame that
the IKEA distribution centre on the A14 is not also a retail outlet.
-- Steve
Meldrew of Meldreth
<malcol...@jobstream.co.uk> writes
>The Tescos at milton (and bar hill) is 24hour
Tescos are only "24 hour" 4 days a week. The other 3 days they aren't.
--
This posting is handtyped from natural materials. Minor blemishes are part of
its character and appeal.
Chris Jackson
Sion Arrowsmith <si...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
>Dan Sheppard <da...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
>>I guess I'm used to big barn-sized places that have stacks and stacks
>>of no-frills this and that, rather than places in the style of Co-Ops
>>and Mace shops. Perhaps I should pay more attention to them.
>
>I guess when the Asda finally opens it still won't fit the
>bill. Lack of Morrisons in the South is definitely a Bad
>Thing.
Morrisons? AFAICT the ones which are still up north have gone all
poshified and Sainsbury's-like now. Admittedly judging from a sample
of one, the Morrisons in Morley (near Leeds) I used to go to when I
was a kid. Definitely more frilly than the nearest comparable Asda.
--
Chris Jackson http://www.fluffhouse.org.uk
MRC Biostatistics Unit / Statistical Laboratory
Mike Pitt
>I think the point is more that there is no IKEA in convenient range as
>opposed to there isn't one in the city centre. A trip to Lakeside to
>do IKEA is bearable, occasionally. Not much fun if something has to
>go back, which is all to common in our experience. It's a shame that
>the IKEA distribution centre on the A14 is not also a retail outlet.
Which might be fair but for the fact his criticism was that Cambridge city
centre shopping was useless.
(Apropos of not much I've had many very bad reports of Ikea (which your
experience supports) and the catalogues have always left me unimpressed,
but YMV. So this doesn't sound a huge problem. There are alternatives in
Cambridge, but this is such a taste dependent issue I'm not going to make
any suggestions. :-) )
Mike
Richard Meredith
(Tony Sayer) wrote:
> In article <6zx*dd...@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk>, Mike Pitt <mikepitt@
> chiark.greenend.org.uk> stuck his oar in and spake thus
> >In article <memo.2001092...@rmeredith.compulink.co.uk>,
> >Richard Meredith <rmer...@cix.co.uk> wrote:
> >>(Actually I know what you mean: places selling all manner of
> hardwareish >>things crammed together into a space apparently ten per
> cent smaller than is >>required to physically fit all the stuff in, and
> which is the only place in >>the known universe to stock left-handed
> sprocket furnagglers and thorn >>needles for wind-up gramophones).
> >
> >The joy of Gees? :-) The only place in Cambridge where they are still
> >suspcious of decimalised currency. :-)
> >
> >
> >Mike
>
> I reckon the council ought to slap a preservation order on that shop. It
> hasn't changed since I were a lad in the early sixties...
Neither has the stock..
Paul Oldham
(Meldrew of Meldreth) growled:
> In message <zrCs7.10$z5.740@psinet-eu-nl>, Malcolm Gray
> <malcol...@jobstream.co.uk> writes
> >The Tescos at milton (and bar hill) is 24hour
>
> Tescos are only "24 hour" 4 days a week. The other 3 days they aren't.
That's a tad unfair. They're 24 hours for five *nights*, which is surely
the significant issue.
Paul Oldham
mike...@chiark.greenend.org.uk (Mike Pitt) growled:
> (Apropos of not much I've had many very bad reports of Ikea (which your
> experience supports) and the catalogues have always left me unimpressed,
> but YMV.
Not to mention their customer services if you have problems, which get a
regular roasting on consumer programmes/columns.
Mark Goodge
finger to keyboard and typed:
>
>things crammed together into a space apparently ten per cent smaller than is
>required to physically fit all the stuff in, and which is the only place in
>the known universe to stock left-handed sprocket furnagglers and thorn
>needles for wind-up gramophones).
And will sell you nails or screws in a brown paper bag. And
individual hacksaw blades out of a drawer in the counter.
Mark
--
Visit Mark's World at http://www.good-stuff.co.uk/mark/
Mark Goodge
keyboard and typed:
>In article <9mw*Zh...@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk>,
>Dan Sheppard <da...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
>
>>* Wilkinsons
>
>Got me there. WTF is Wilkinsons?
A cross between B&Q, Woolworths and an old-fashioned ironmongers.
Sells everything from catfood to curtains, pot plants to
paracetamol and bog roll to bell wire.
There's one in Ely, which I think is the nearest to Cambridge.
Website at http://www.wilko.co.uk
Meldrew of Meldreth
<pa...@the-hug.org> writes
>> Tescos are only "24 hour" 4 days a week. The other 3 days they aren't.
>
>That's a tad unfair. They're 24 hours for five *nights*, which is surely
>the significant issue.
They are also 24 hours for 6 days [1], if you want to take that
approach; which doesn't make any sense either.
ie There are 6 days that their opening policy means they are open all
day.
Jo McGowan
news:3bc7219e...@news.markshouse.net...
> On 27 Sep 2001 11:39:13 +0100 (BST), Mike Pitt put finger to
> keyboard and typed:
>
> A cross between B&Q, Woolworths and an old-fashioned ironmongers.
> Sells everything from catfood to curtains, pot plants to
> paracetamol and bog roll to bell wire.
Yey!
I used to spend hours avoiding study in Leeds by wandering round Headingley
Wilko's.
My favourites there were clothes dye, picture frames and toothbrushes. At
the beginning of term it would be chock full of parents buying various cheap
washing and cleaning implements for their sons and daughters, having just
been to visit their offspring's student hovel for the year.
Jo
Dan Sheppard
but here goes a more cam.misc-friendly explaination. :)
When I go shopping for something, or some class of thing I expect (as
in, assume) the following
* A certain number of similar shops for comparison purposes
* A certain distance between the shops, for tired legs purposes
* A certain distance /to/ the shops, ditto
Obviously I don't expect there to be two of three icerinks within
100yards of where I live, I'd be annoyed if there weren't a couple of
budget supermarkets within walking distance (2 miles, say, laden with
shopping), though.
Given my expectations, Cambridge falls below them on the areas I
listed.
The shops I listed weren't personal preference, they were a mixture of
that and what people have moaned at me about, or what I've seen people
going elsewhere for. I really don't know where the "bah, you don't want
to do that" were aimed (apart from jpmg's joke).
I agree that Cambridge is a small town. I don't think it's /much/
worse than, say, Norwich or Lincoln, which I think are similar. But on
an absolute scale, it's certainly not very good for me.
I think that the worst two features are, first, the lack of plausible
CBD for the size of the city, for Teddybear shops, fudge shops, and
clothiers. This pushes things that would normally be closer together
further out and so further apart. Secondly, the lack of plausible
urban industrial hinterland (beyond Riverside) means that there are
few specialist shops near the CBD. Usually there's a big supermarket
in the UIH too, and it looks like Cambridge will soon get one of those
at Riverside which is good.
There's also no plausible soulless barn-centre on a motorway
intersection to go to for all the big stuff. The Newmarket Road B&Q
area is the most plausible, but it's small and bizarrely populated.
(Boots-the-size-of-Portugal? Eh?).
/As an example/, it's possible to go to most cities, drink a cup of
tea and eat some toast, buy groceries from a supermarket, get some
cloth, buy a dangly-thingy for lightbulbs, get some cardboard boxes
for a move, buy a present from one of those "...and you must get it
from X" shops, buy some tickets for a gig, buy a Das Ich CD, a potato
masher[1], a mobile phone charger[2] and so on, all within less than a
one mile radius and then get the bus home. I don't think I could do
that in Cambridge because it's so doughnutty.
That's why I think Cambridge is crap for shopping, and why I think
that all the tourist shops in the CBD cause it.
Dan.
[1] Do you know how difficult it is just to get a potato masher in
Cambridge? :)
[2] Yes, I thought it would be easy, with all those mobile phone
shops, too.
--
Somebody typed " ncb warfare " into Google, and found
http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/ucgi/~dans/story
Tim Ward
>
> [1] Do you know how difficult it is just to get a potato masher in
> Cambridge? :)
Tesco. Sainsbury's. Robert Sayle's basement. Sounds easy enough to me. And
probably the Histon Road Coop, as well, they have that sort of thing, if you
can find it. And Nasreen Dar has all sorts of bizarre stuff, so that would
be worth a try, particularly if you suddenly needed one on Christmas day
morning.
--
Tim Ward - posting as an individual unless otherwise clear
Brett Ward Ltd - www.brettward.co.uk
Cambridge Accommodation Notice Board - www.brettward.co.uk/canb
Cambridge City Councillor
Dan Sheppard
>Tesco.
Are you suggesting I drive to Milton or Bar Hill to buy a potato
masher? :)
>Sainsbury's.
Nope, not when I was there.
>Robert Sayle's basement.
Nope, not when I was there.
Also: Lakeland Kitchen supplies (or whatever the'ye called near Rymans)
Nope.
>Sounds easy enough to me.
Yeah, but I had to do it.
Woolies to the rescue.
> And
>probably the Histon Road Coop, as well, they have that sort of thing, if you
>can find it. And Nasreen Dar has all sorts of bizarre stuff, so that would
>be worth a try, particularly if you suddenly needed one on Christmas day
>morning.
THat's my point, really. It's really not reasonable to drive from the
Naz to Coldham's Lane Sainsburies to buy a potato masher. There should
be half a dozen shops in the city centre that sell something as basic
as that.
Dan.
--
Somebody typed " ncb gas mask " into Google, and found
http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/ucgi/~dans/story
Dan Sheppard
>I wonder if you can count the Maypole or the Bun Shop (both of which
Oh, the Maypole is a complete lifesaver. What a wonderful place.
(Except when there's football on).
>Probably yes, although you might be surprised at how cheap M+S are
>if you look for the right things there.
I'm usually only there to buy snack food because there's nowhere else
nearby. Perhaps that's unrepresentitively expensive?
Dan.
--
Somebody typed " Glasshouse Street " into Google, and found
http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/ucgi/~dans/story
Patrick Gosling
Dan Sheppard <da...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
>[1] Do you know how difficult it is just to get a potato masher in
> Cambridge? :)
The Elizabeth thingy cookshop halfway up Fitzroy St, big Sainsburies,
Debenhams, probably BHS, probably the odd temporary kitchenware shop
just opposite the Elizabeth David cookshop, Robert Sayles, M+S (Ha!),
Sidney Sainsburies, the Naz (I _think_), Lakeland (or whatever it's
called, opposite the Northern Rock on Sidney St).
I don't think you're trying hard enough 8-). Apart from anything else,
there's two of those in your "city centre shopping desert" ...
-patrick.
LNR
>
>[1] Do you know how difficult it is just to get a potato masher in
> Cambridge? :)
I saw one in Robert Sayle today, but didn't buy it because I already own
one. Mobbsy may wish to note this however. I think I also saw one in
Woolies.
Do you know how hard it is to buy a bucket? Woolies had sold out, the
ones in Sayles were all small and flimsy and the ones in B&Q (I've never
been in there before, it's dreadful!) were sort of half height but extra
wide and kind of cheap and nasty looking. Anyone recommend anywhere to
buy a bucket?
I was going to wibble about the fact that dect phones are more expesive
per phone if you buy a twin pack with base-station and additional
handset than if you buy two base stations, but I seem to be busy packing
and need to go off to offer a free 286 machine on ucam.adverts.giveaway.
If anyone wants it from here gimme a shout :-) Needs SCSI hard disk (up
to 100 MB) and floppy drive. I can probably find you a copy of the DOS
setup utility to drive it at some point. It even has the manual.
--
l...@lspace.org http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~eleanorb/
Dan Sheppard
>The Elizabeth thingy cookshop halfway up Fitzroy St, big Sainsburies,
>Debenhams, probably BHS, probably the odd temporary kitchenware shop
>just opposite the Elizabeth David cookshop, Robert Sayles, M+S (Ha!),
>Sidney Sainsburies, the Naz (I _think_), Lakeland (or whatever it's
>called, opposite the Northern Rock on Sidney St).
Perhaps I went just after a run on potato mashers, but Sidney
Sainsbury's, Robert Sayles and Lakeland didn't have them. Woolies did,
though. Okay, so that wasn't /that/ bad, perhaps it seemed worse
because it was raining, and ait seemed such a stupid thing to go
cavorting out in the rain to buy.
The phone one was worse though. I tried three shops on the road with
Smiths on, Woolies, Smiths, two shops on Petty Cury, Argos, the mobile
phone shop on Newmarket Road (MFC?), Office World, Curries, Comet,
three shops in the Grafton centre, Maplin, a shop on Mill Road and a
market stall. In the end I got something that wasn't what I wanted and
cost twice as much. :( I don't think that was Cambridge's fault,
though.
Dan.
--
Somebody typed " nato gas mask uk " into Google, and found
http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/ucgi/~dans/story
Tim Ward
>
> The phone one was worse though. ..... :( I don't think that was
Cambridge's fault,
> though.
You're definitely right about the phone business, though, and I think you're
right that it's not just Cambridge.
I too fail to see why we need 487 shops selling phones and 0 shops providing
any sort of service once you've bought one.
Colin Rosenstiel
PaulNOTTH...@pobox.co.uk (Paul Oter) wrote:
> "Tim Ward" <t...@brettward.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:Bpqs7.2849$Vj1.4...@news2-win.server.ntlworld.com...
> > Dan Sheppard <da...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote in message
> > news:iUl*9U...@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk...
> > >
> > > They're kind of what I was after, but not quite. Perhaps I was
> > > spoilt, but I was brought up with an Ironmongers that also sold
> > > stuff like pot-plants, christmas tree lights, washing lines, clothes
> > > baskets, buckets, vacuum cleaner bags, air freshner, and so on: all
> > > kind of random household stuff.
> >
> > Oh, like Lowes, you mean? RIP also, I believe?
>
> It's now called Cutlacks of Ely, on Mill Road just east of the
> Broadway. I think it would suit Dan's requirements..
I agree and have used it since Lowe's demise. Also, don't ignore Woolie's.
Colin Rosenstiel
Andrew Mobbs
>
>Perhaps I went just after a run on potato mashers, but Sidney
>Sainsbury's, Robert Sayles and Lakeland didn't have them. Woolies did,
>though. Okay, so that wasn't /that/ bad, perhaps it seemed worse
>because it was raining, and ait seemed such a stupid thing to go
>cavorting out in the rain to buy.
I'd just like to thank cam.misc for this detailed research into potato
masher purchasing in Cambridge. It's valuable to me, as I need to buy
a potato masher in the near future.
No, really, it's true.
--
Andrew Mobbs - http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~andrewm/
Sion Arrowsmith
>I saw one in Robert Sayle today, but didn't buy it because I already own
>one. Mobbsy may wish to note this however. I think I also saw one in
>Woolies.
I can't remember whether I got my rather nice masher from --
either Tesco (Fulbourn) or Robert Sayles. Tesco admittedly
not much use in context, but I'm incredibly surprised at
Dan's lack of success with Sayles.
> Anyone recommend anywhere to
>buy a bucket?
On the B&Q theme, Homebase. (Does what-was-Octopus still
exist?)
> need to go off to offer a free 286 machine on ucam.adverts.giveaway.
>If anyone wants it from here gimme a shout :-) Needs SCSI hard disk (up
>to 100 MB) and floppy drive.
Does it need a monitor too? 'cos I know where there's one
going that would be perfect for it....
LNR
>LNR <l...@lspace.org> wrote:
>
>> need to go off to offer a free 286 machine on ucam.adverts.giveaway.
>>If anyone wants it from here gimme a shout :-) Needs SCSI hard disk (up
>>to 100 MB) and floppy drive.
>
>Does it need a monitor too? 'cos I know where there's one
>going that would be perfect for it....
It does indeed, but any old monitor will do. Jan still has the HD and
FD I think, though I dunno if she's using them. No horde of people
beating down my door to buy it yet :-)
--
l...@lspace.org http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~eleanorb/
Andrew Cleland
news:U1m*Cw...@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk...
> Dan Sheppard <da...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
> >
> >[1] Do you know how difficult it is just to get a potato masher in
> > Cambridge? :)
>
> I saw one in Robert Sayle today, but didn't buy it because I already own
> one. Mobbsy may wish to note this however. I think I also saw one in
> Woolies.
>
> Do you know how hard it is to buy a bucket? Woolies had sold out, the
> ones in Sayles were all small and flimsy and the ones in B&Q (I've never
> been in there before, it's dreadful!) were sort of half height but extra
> wide and kind of cheap and nasty looking. Anyone recommend anywhere to
> buy a bucket?
>
Mackays (probably) or Simpers Rope Works (Garlic Row, off Newmarket Road).
Andy C.
--
Andrew Cleland,
Cambridge & London,
http://www.camcor.demon.co.uk/landrover/
Meldrew of Meldreth
<da...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> writes
>The phone one was worse though. I tried three shops on the road with
>Smiths on, Woolies, Smiths, two shops on Petty Cury, Argos, the mobile
>phone shop on Newmarket Road (MFC?), Office World, Curries, Comet,
>three shops in the Grafton centre, Maplin, a shop on Mill Road and a
>market stall. In the end I got something that wasn't what I wanted and
>cost twice as much. :( I don't think that was Cambridge's fault,
>though.
Yes, it's typical of the kind of clustering of identical, small and
useless chainstore shops that towns like Cambridge seems to attract,
that none of them will have the one thing you want. And they all have
exactly the same collection of things you don't want. It needs a bigger
town to have either a larger branch of one of the globalised/sanitised
stores, which *does* have room for that extra range of items; or a
specialist shop.
Hugo 'NOx' Tyson
Dan Sheppard <da...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> writes:
> Okay, I've drawn a line at writing what I've been trying to say in Z,
> but here goes a more cam.misc-friendly explaination. :)
>
> When I go shopping for something, or some class of thing I expect (as
> in, assume) the following
>
> * A certain number of similar shops for comparison purposes
That is not a description of shopping for something, it is a description of
shopping for leisure.
> * A certain distance between the shops, for tired legs purposes
If you go shopping for /something/ you go directly to a place which you
know sells it, buy it, and go home. No multiplicity of shops is needed.
> * A certain distance /to/ the shops, ditto
So everybody should live in the same space? Physically impossible.
- Huge
Martin Read
Hugo 'NOx' Tyson <hm...@redxhatx.com> wrote:
>
>Dan Sheppard <da...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> writes:
>> Okay, I've drawn a line at writing what I've been trying to say in Z,
>> but here goes a more cam.misc-friendly explaination. :)
>>
>> When I go shopping for something, or some class of thing I expect (as
>> in, assume) the following
>>
>> * A certain number of similar shops for comparison purposes
>
>That is not a description of shopping for something, it is a description of
>shopping for leisure.
I want a _foo_, where _foo_ is commodity equipment. I feel I would
rather go round a few potential vendors of _foo_s, talk to their staff,
find a vendor with a reasonable price *and* clued staff, and buy my
_foo_ from them. I don't particularly want to have to spend half the
morning on the phone before going out to find one; I'd rather get some
exercise at the same time as doing my comparison operations.
m.
--
\_\/_/| The FBI are not concerned with the sexual peccadillos of a random
\ / | perkygoth.
\/ |
------+
Hugo 'NOx' Tyson
"Andrew Cleland" <andrew_...@bigfoot.com> writes:
> "LNR" <l...@lspace.org> wrote in message
> news:U1m*Cw...@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk...
> > ones in Sayles were all small and flimsy and the ones in B&Q (I've never
> > been in there before, it's dreadful!) were sort of half height but extra
Dreadful? How so, it's a DIY barn, what else would you expect? The driods
are all retards and the tills are far far too slow, but that's DIY barns!
> > wide and kind of cheap and nasty looking. Anyone recommend anywhere to
> > buy a bucket?
>
> Mackays (probably) or Simpers Rope Works (Garlic Row, off Newmarket Road).
Exactly. Going into the middle of town to buy anything specific is
pointless. The correct shop is available, just not in town. Where's the
problem?
Treat town like a general store - they won't sell you anything
specific. ;-)
- Huge
Rupert Moss-Eccardt
Sion Arrowsmith wrote:
>
> LNR <l...@lspace.org> wrote:
> > Anyone recommend anywhere to
> >buy a bucket?
>
> On the B&Q theme, Homebase. (Does what-was-Octopus still
> exist?)
Bishops.
Mark Goodge
keyboard and typed:
>
>I agree that Cambridge is a small town. I don't think it's /much/
>worse than, say, Norwich or Lincoln, which I think are similar. But on
>an absolute scale, it's certainly not very good for me.
According to the Newspaper Society database[1], Cambridge has an
adult[2] population of 110891, Norwich 148518 and Lincoln 72456.
But a significant proportion of Cambridge's population is
students, and they tend not to do so much of the shopping that
you're interested in.
Mark
[1] http://www.adweb.co.uk/nsreportindex.html - follow the
"location" link.
[2] Aged 15 and over, for the purposes of this particular
database.
Sion Arrowsmith
>Sion Arrowsmith <si...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
>>[286 giveaway]
>>Does it need a monitor too? 'cos I know where there's one
>>going that would be perfect for it....
>It does indeed, but any old monitor will do. Jan still has the HD and
>FD I think, though I dunno if she's using them.
If she does, then they're not in use as such, but earmarked
for future use (firewall for when we've got a house to have
a network in).
> No horde of people
>beating down my door to buy it yet :-)
Nor for the monitor -- I was wondering if the two could be
combined into a more attractive package....
Mark Ayliffe
>
> According to the Newspaper Society database[1], Cambridge has an
> adult[2] population of 110891, Norwich 148518 and Lincoln 72456.
> But a significant proportion of Cambridge's population is
> students, and they tend not to do so much of the shopping that
> you're interested in.
>
Presumably the (undergraduate) students aren't included in the above totals?
For any of those cities. But I suspect Cambridge doesn't have 37,000 more
students than Norwich does.
Mark
Hugo 'NOx' Tyson
ma...@good-stuff.co.uk (Mark Goodge) writes:
> On 27 Sep 2001 17:39:59 +0100 (BST), Dan Sheppard put finger to
> keyboard and typed:
> >
> >I agree that Cambridge is a small town. I don't think it's /much/
> >worse than, say, Norwich or Lincoln, which I think are similar. But on
> >an absolute scale, it's certainly not very good for me.
>
> According to the Newspaper Society database[1], Cambridge has an
> adult[2] population of 110891, Norwich 148518 and Lincoln 72456.
> But a significant proportion of Cambridge's population is
> students, and they tend not to do so much of the shopping that
> you're interested in.
Only about 10k students IIRC.
I've always used figures of 100k "real people" and 10k students for mental
arithmetic about stuff.
Mark Ayliffe
news:wwt7kuj...@masala.cambridge.redhat.com...
IIRC that's UoC undergraduates. Presumably most graduates count as
residents, but APU has a few students too...
M2
Hugo 'NOx' Tyson
"Mark Ayliffe" <mark.ayl...@nospam.pem.removethis.cam.ac.uk> writes:
Yes. I meant the 10k to refer to the seasonal variation in population.
Graduates are here closer to all-the-time AIUI.
How many are at APU/whateveritscalledtoday?
- Huge
Mark Ayliffe
>
> Yes. I meant the 10k to refer to the seasonal variation in population.
> Graduates are here closer to all-the-time AIUI.
>
> How many are at APU/whateveritscalledtoday?
The students' union claims over 11,000 members. Some of those will no doubt
be permanent Cambridge residents.
Mark
Mike Pitt
Tim Ward <t...@brettward.co.uk> wrote:
>Tesco. Sainsbury's. Robert Sayle's basement. Sounds easy enough to me. And
>probably the Histon Road Coop, as well, they have that sort of thing, if you
>can find it. And Nasreen Dar has all sorts of bizarre stuff, so that would
>be worth a try, particularly if you suddenly needed one on Christmas day
>morning.
In the Grafton centre vicinity alone there is Elizabeth David cookshop
(1.99), Habitat (guess what -- stainless steel and 6 quid), BHS and
Debenhams cookshop.
I checked on my way back today. :-)
Mike
Steven Kitson
>In the Grafton centre vicinity alone there is Elizabeth David cookshop
>(1.99), Habitat (guess what -- stainless steel and 6 quid), BHS and
>Debenhams cookshop.
And you missed QD?
(I don't know if they have potato mashers, but they have plastic spaghetti
tongs, which nowhere else seemed to).
--
I actually think there's an element of psychosis involved here.
William Turner
> How many are at APU/whateveritscalledtoday?
I wish they'd call it something other than APU - it always
makes me think of it as an intellectual Kwik-e-mart.
--
|\ _,,,---,,_ Software Team Leader,
ZZZzz /,`.-'`' -. ;-;;,_ Pace Micro Technology PLC,
|,4- ) )-,_. ,\ ( `'-' Cambridge, England.
'---''(_/--' `-'\_) Email: william...@pace.co.uk
Hugo 'NOx' Tyson
William Turner <william...@pace.co.uk> writes:
> > How many are at APU/whateveritscalledtoday?
>
> I wish they'd call it something other than APU - it always
> makes me think of it as an intellectual Kwik-e-mart.
<OxBridge snobbery> 'Zat a problem? </>
ROFL. Auxiliary Power Unit is as far as my imagination runs...
- Huge
Mike Pitt
Dan Sheppard <da...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
>in, assume) the following
>* A certain number of similar shops for comparison purposes
And you have all these -- even for potato mashers. There are multiple
"cookshops", phone shops, book shops, mainstream record shops, two games
shops, many clothes shops (caveat -- not "alternative" for you).
>* A certain distance between the shops, for tired legs purposes
>* A certain distance /to/ the shops, ditto
>100yards of where I live, I'd be annoyed if there weren't a couple of
>budget supermarkets within walking distance (2 miles, say, laden with
>shopping), though.
According to multimap, Cambridge is only 5 miles accross tho', so you
*are* probably within 2 miles of 2 supermarkets. I accept the fact that
finding a foot accessible supermarket is a PITA. As for budget -- I have
to say this sounds more like an artificial requirement as I have been told
that Tescos Value comes in cheaper than alternatives. Can't remember where
I got that from tho'.
Again this is not a criticism of the "CBD" shopping experience, and you
have come a long way from your initial assertion.
>Given my expectations, Cambridge falls below them on the areas I
>listed.
You don't like Cambridge. This is because (i) it doesn't have the
correct shops for you (which I accept) and (ii) you don't want to like it
for some reason so try to make it out that it is Cambridge's fault.
>The shops I listed weren't personal preference, they were a mixture of
>that and what people have moaned at me about, or what I've seen people
>going elsewhere for. I really don't know where the "bah, you don't want
>to do that" were aimed (apart from jpmg's joke).
Flippancy? Besides I've moaned about Cambridge's provision of the odd
shop, doesn't make it a bad shopping centre.
>/As an example/, it's possible to go to most cities, drink a cup of
>tea and eat some toast, buy groceries from a supermarket, get some
>cloth, buy a dangly-thingy for lightbulbs, get some cardboard boxes
>for a move, buy a present from one of those "...and you must get it
>from X" shops, buy some tickets for a gig, buy a Das Ich CD, a potato
>masher[1], a mobile phone charger[2] and so on, all within less than a
>one mile radius and then get the bus home. I don't think I could do
>that in Cambridge because it's so doughnutty.
And it is (but for the mobile phone charger, and the CD which you might
have to order) in Cambridge. I'd say give it a chance, but frankly whats
the point? You don't like Cambridge, fair enough, live elsewhere, but at
least be fair.
You would have to do the 300 yd walk accross Christs Pieces and New Square
tho'. (Hang on -- there was a shuttle bus, does it still run?) The park,
not the tourist tat gets in the way in a little, but I think it's well
worth living with, and seeing as it's next to the bus stop anyway...
>[1] Do you know how difficult it is just to get a potato masher in
> Cambridge? :)
Trivial last time I tried. At lunch today. :-) (Mobbsy: see other post,
if I were you I'd go for the EDC)
>[2] Yes, I thought it would be easy, with all those mobile phone
> shops, too.
Agree with you about those, but this is what you wanted -- large number
of commodity shops for comparison...
Maybe you are looking in the wrong place. Try basing yourself around the
Grafton centre rather than the Market. Errr... that might sound
patronising, if so sorry.
Mike
Mike Pitt
Steven Kitson <ski...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
>And you missed QD?
D'Oh! Yes I did forget. :-)
>(I don't know if they have potato mashers, but they have plastic spaghetti
>tongs, which nowhere else seemed to).
Are they, errr... any use? :-)
Actually whilst I'm here: does anyone know where you can get a lasagne
slice[0]? Anywhere in the UK!
Mike
[0] My father broke his and has been unable to find one anywhere and he's
threatening to nick ours.
Mark Carroll
Hugo 'NOx' Tyson <hm...@redxhatx.com> wrote:
>
>Dan Sheppard <da...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> writes:
(snip)
>> When I go shopping for something, or some class of thing I expect (as
>> in, assume) the following
>>
>> * A certain number of similar shops for comparison purposes
>
>That is not a description of shopping for something, it is a description of
>shopping for leisure.
Why? If you don't have much money or you have a low tolerance for
accumulating crap, then you'll probably want to compare the offerings
so that you find out that, say, you can get a nylon potato masher with
the holes for one price, a steel masher with the wiggly wire for
another, etc., and then buy the thing that's best value for
you. You'll probably be using it for years, after all.
In a shopping mall, that is exactly how I shop: I make one pass
finding out what is available from where, and then another pass buying
what seemed to be the best selection from what I found out about. I
don't comparison shop because I'd rather be shopping than elsewhere; I
do it to get the best value for money.
>> * A certain distance between the shops, for tired legs purposes
>
>If you go shopping for /something/ you go directly to a place which you
>know sells it, buy it, and go home. No multiplicity of shops is needed.
(snip)
Only if your time costs a lot more than mine does. I'm usually glad I
took the time to find out about other vendors' prices and alternative
products. Of course, if I _only_ want to buy a pad of paper, some
toilet duck and an egg, then I wouldn't bother, but usually I'm buying
enough things where I'm concerned enough about variations in price and
performance that comparison shopping starts being a win.
My point being, some of us don't do it for leisure: indeed, I still
make an effort to have it done as quickly as possible, which is why
I'm often one of the most rapidly moving objects in said mall.
Cambridge is always interesting to devise suitable routes around,
though, so as to cover the maximum number of relevant shops in the
minimum time.
-- Mark
Steven Kitson
>Steven Kitson <ski...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
>>(I don't know if they have potato mashers, but they have plastic spaghetti
>>tongs, which nowhere else seemed to).
>Are they, errr... any use? :-)
Yes, if you cook spaghetti in a non-stick saucepan.
Mark Carroll
working regular hours, except maybe for clothing which I buy
infrequently anyway and at American prices instead of British. Maybe
we would tend to buy different things, though. My only real complaint
was Sainsbury's after the aisles changed oritentation, but of course
they've expanded it quite a bit since and I haven't used it enough for
major shopping to reach a new verdict.
-- Mark
Hugo 'NOx' Tyson
Mark Carroll <ma...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> writes:
> In article <wwtlmiz...@masala.cambridge.redhat.com>,
> Hugo 'NOx' Tyson <hm...@redxhatx.com> wrote:
> >
> >Dan Sheppard <da...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> writes:
> (snip)
> >> When I go shopping for something, or some class of thing I expect (as
> >> in, assume) the following
> >>
> >> * A certain number of similar shops for comparison purposes
> >
> >That is not a description of shopping for something, it is a description of
> >shopping for leisure.
>
> Why? If you don't have much money or you have a low tolerance for
> accumulating crap, then you'll probably want to compare the offerings
> so that you find out that, say, you can get a nylon potato masher with
> the holes for one price, a steel masher with the wiggly wire for
> another, etc., and then buy the thing that's best value for
If you're *so* short of money you could just use a fork ;-)
> you. You'll probably be using it for years, after all.
You'll probably be using it for 10 minutes every week even if you're a
really big fan of mashed potatoes. Buy the first one you find that doesn't
look crap. If after a year it's broken, and you still love mashed
potatoes, buy the first more expensive one you find. Repeat if necessary.
You *can* throw out the crap one.
Chances are, after the novelty has worn off, you'll use it for 2-3 minutes
a month and it'll last for a decade regardless.
Is such a thing really interesting enough to compile your own "Which?"
report? (But I'd go straight to the Elizabeth David cookshop in Fitzroy St
or the caterer's shop on Arbury Road corner with Milton Road - they won't
have any crap)
I think the underlying problem with threads like this is that for almost
anything mentioned, people who've lived here a while know just where to go
to get a decent one - even if it starts http://www.... (eg. for Laibach
CDs) - but newcomers don't and don't know how to find out, because the
right shops to use are in backstreets or industrial estates or just not
open Saturday afternoon or whatever - not in the nice well-defined "city
centre".
- Huge